Free Downloads The Wheel Of Time: The Shamans Of Mexico Their Thoughts About Life Death And The Universe
World-renowned bestselling author Carlos Castaneda's Selection of his wrtings on the shamans of ancient Mexico.Originally drawn to Yaqui Indian spiritual leader don Juan Matus for his knowledge of mind-altering plants, bestselling author Carlos Castaneda soon immersed himself in the sorcerer’s magical world entirely. Ten years after his first encounter with the shaman, Castaneda examines his field notes and comes to understand what don Juan knew all along—that these plants are merely a means to understanding the alternative realities that one cannot fully embrace on one’s own. In Journey to Ixtlan, Carlos Castaneda introduces readers to this new approach for the first time and explores, as he comes to experience it himself, his own final voyage into the teachings of don Juan, sharing with us what it is like to truly “stop the world” and perceive reality on his own terms.
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Washington Square Press; Later Printing (8th) edition (January 1, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 074341280X
ISBN-13: 978-0743412803
Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #76,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #4 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics > Geometry & Topology > Differential Geometry #7 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics > Geometry & Topology > Topology #17 in Books > History > World > Religious > Ethnic & Tribal
Castaneda is one of the most fascinating occultists of the past 100 years. Like Blavatsky, McGregor Mathers and Gurdjieff it is always hard to tell what is fact, what is fiction and what is visionary. I read the first book, Don Juan, while still in college and looked forward to every book thereafter. Every book had the strange ability to "zonk" me - to dump me into a sleepy somnolent state that was a cross between some trance state and a deep sleep. I think Carlos was the closest we have in the West to a mythmaker, a dreamweaver. Starting in 1993 Casteneda and other members of his party became slightly more public - Abelar and Donner gave bookstore lectures, later they and others (and even CC, on a couple of occasions) gave workshops on CC's "Tensegrity" system of body movements. Although CC kept referring to Don Juan, it seemed more and more as though he was speaking for himself as well; the student had become the teacher. In that sense the "Don Juan Mythos" embodied in the various books (Ixtlan, Power of Silence, Art of Dreaming etc.) is finally and elegantly replaced by this final work of Carlos', the Wheel of Time, which is spare and abstract. This book has been criticized for largely being made up of select quotes and paraphrases from the "Mythos" but that is not true; each selection from the books has a lucid, poetical introduction in the best Castaneda tradition of spare but beautiful language, followed by a critical commentary or additional observations at the end of each selection. Carlos wanted to go out with a bang, and in this book he has, by creating, without any effort or intent to do so, a book as compelling for modern westerners as the Tao Teh Ching must have been for Chinese when Lao Tse first recorded his thoughts.
The Wheel of Time was written for those individuals who have been caught up in the web of the Warriors way. By selecting these quotations in such a way, Carlos Castaneda deconstructed the rather numerous Shamanistic trickery associated with his teacher. In this way he insured that no one would be able to fall into the chaos which seems to inflict other travelers into the other side of things. The Wheel of Time was specifically written for practitioners with each quotation an expression of a particular problem which arises within the structure of this path. This book was not intended for speculation. It was intended as an avenue into the unknown which allows the warrior to remain free and unbroken.
This is the book of short excerpts taken from first 8 Castaneda's books. There is nothing new in it. The book is made and published after Castanedas death, and that is the only reason why this book is interesting to customers.You cannot read this book because the excerpt on a page hs nothing common with the excerpt on the next page. Only thing what is possible to do with it is to open book randomly and read what is in the page you opened.Even more, I would be less critical if someone would take these excerpts and group them by the theme. That would give some purpose to the book. But in this book excerps are grouped by the book in which they can be found.The way in which the matter is presented in this book is useless.
July 2014: Since writing many book reviews of the past, this current review inclusive, much has changed, as I have discovered much. I have come to see and have had exposed many of the deceptions and errors associated with Gnosticism, this even after becoming a Gnostic priest. My faith in Jesus Christ has been my anchor and I press on with him who shed his blood for me. I am tempted to delete many of my reviews, as I have already done; time will tell.This is the 11th book in the Carlos Castaneda series. As I started to read this book, I could not help but think, once again, that this book was put together to further squeeze out more profits from the fame created by the Carlos Castaneda books. The book contains much white space, due to most pages having single quotes. As a result this book took me next to no time to finish, even with 300 pages. Even though I mention that this book is a nice summary, it in no wise compensates for having read the main body of books that Carlos Castaneda wrote.I am glad that I did read this book in that it gave a good summary of all the Carlos Castaneda books from `The teachings of Don Juan' to `The power of silence'. Quotations are provided from each of these books and at the end of each book a commentary is given. I got a lot out of reading these quotes as it further solidified the teachings given by Carlos Castaneda and Don Juan. I also liked the commentaries in that they provided further insights, summarized and really focused the teachings. I could not help mark the pages with the quotes that I liked and wanted to refer back to. Some of my favorite quotes:"Whenever the internal dialogue stops, the world collapses, and extraordinary facets of ourselves surface, as though they had been kept heavily guarded by our words." Pg 128"Any habit needs all its parts in order to function. If some parts are missing, the habit is disassembled." Pg 169"I am already given to the power that rules my fate. And I cling to nothing, so I will have nothing to defend. I have no thoughts, so I will see. I fear nothing, so I will remember myself. Detached and at ease, I will dart past the eagle to be free." Pg 196"Self-importance is man's greatest enemy. What weakens him is feeling offended by the deeds and misdeeds of his fellow men. Self-importance requires that one spend most of one's life offended by something or someone" pg 230"Impeccablity begins with a single act that has to be deliberate, precise, and sustained. If that act is repeated long enough, one acquires a sense of unbending intent, which can be applied to anything else. If that is accomplished the road is clear. One thing will lead to another until the warrior realises his full potential." Pg 244"Any movement of the assemblage point means a movement away form an excessive concern with the individual self. Shamans believe it is the position of the assemblage point which makes modern man a homicidal egotist, a being totally involved with his self-image. Having lost hope of ever returning to the source of everything, the average man seeks solace in his selfishness." Pg 279"The thrust of the warrior's way is to dethrone self-importance. And everything warriors do is directed toward accomplishing this goal." Pg 290"Shamans have unmasked self-importance and found that it is self-pity masquerading as something else." Pg 291Having some understanding and acceptance of what the above quotes are trying to say is a major step in the right direction to say the least. Without a Nagual, I am pessimistic as to real and lasting change; for me, these insights need to be coupled with Gnosis and the blade of the divine mother.
I was disappointed to see that this wasn't a new book, but only a collection of sayings from Castaneda's previous works - with a saying on each page. Nothing here that isn't in the previous books, only taken out of the dramatic narrative. Definintely not for those looking for the latest in the tales. Now I understand Carlos has "passed on" to where ever the heck he may have been headed, so we will not be hearing from him again except, I guess, from these post-mortem compilations.
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